Brown Street

Brown Street
By Joe Zawinul with the WDR Big Band
Heads Up/BirdJam 2-CD set

Considering Weather Report’s legacy is a complicated matter. The fusion super-group formed by Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter has no shortage of partisans, pro and con. WR’s albums were generally well reviewed and were very successful commercially, particularly by jazz standards. However, some of the less successful, synth-heavy LPs have to an extent defined how many remember them: as a precursor to disco-influenced pop-jazz. By revisiting his past WR tunes with the backing of the swinging WDR big band, Joe Zawinul refocuses attention on the actual compositions for an exciting evening of music captured live on the double disk Brown Street.

The title track is a perfect flag waving opener. Starting with the steady groove of Zawinul’s keyboards with Heiner Wiberny’s soprano sax, it continues to build until the entire band comes roaring in past the three minute mark. Like WR’s greatest hit, “Birdland,” (so widely covered it was skipped for this project), “Brown Street” is a fun tune, played with verve by Zawinul and soloists Wiberny and guitarist Paul Shigihara.

As a change of pace, “In a Silent Way” follows. It is a bit of ringer, since Zawinul wrote it while he was with Miles Davis, but evidently WR often performed it live. John Marshall steps into the trumpet spotlight for a pensive solo over Zawinul’s synthesizers which harkens back to the Davis original.

The big swinging “Fast City” follows with take-no-prisoners solos from Marshall and Paul Heller on tenor that would be a surprise to most WR detractors. Indeed, many of the tunes have a very different vibe than one associates with WR albums, thanks to the WDR and the arrangements (all but one) by Vince Mendoza. For instance, “Badia/Boogie Woogie Waltz” is particularly intriguing in its evolution, from a spacey opening to a blistering close.

“A Remark You Made” is another familiar tune that effectively recasts WR fusion into big band jazz. Heiner Wiberny’s alto takes on a smoothish, romantic sound playing over a lush arrangement.

The train whistle introduces “Night Passage,” a return to the overall tone of Brown Street: upbeat, up-tempo, and brassy. Featuring a great flugelhorn solo from Kenny Rampton, it really is a standout track.

Brown Street is useful as a reevaluation of WR, demonstrating the adaptability of Zawinul’s compositions. Ultimately, it illustrates why WR was so successful. Even in a different context these are catchy, fun tunes, masterfully played by Zawinul and the WDR band.

Weill

Weill
By Anne Kerry Ford
Illyria Records CD003

Kurt Weill’s reputation is intertwined with that of his early collaborator Bertolt Brecht, but while Brecht was politicizing his lyrics, Weill was more interested in the art of his melodies. Anne Kerry Ford’s new set of Kurt Weill songs, simply titled Weill, provides a fresh look at the composer, including examples of his collaborations with a variety of different lyricists, including Ira Gershwin, Maxwell Anderson, and Langston Hughes.

Ford is a vocalist more in the cabaret tradition, also known for an acting career on the soap opera Days of Our Lives and in the films Clean and Sober and Fearless. For many of the songs here, particularly those with Brecht lyrics, like the demanding "Pirate Jenny," her theatrical training is helpful in interpreting dramatic and sometimes thorny lyrics.

Ford clearly takes inspiration performing in Weill’s native Germany backed up by the German WDR Big Band, one of the best bands in Europe. The great jazz pianist Roger Kellaway wrote most of the arrangements, giving a jazz feel to some of the tunes. This is particularly strong on “One Life to Lead” with lyrics by Gershwin, which even features some scattish vocalizing over William Artope’s trumpet.

“My Ship,” also from Lady in the Dark, Weill’s Broadway collaboration with Gershwin and Moss Hart, is a beautiful ballad feature for Ford with simple but elegant piano accompaniment from John Boswell. It is also interesting to hear Ford singing the alienation and blues of Hughes’ “Lonely House” and effectively rising to the concluding emotional crescendo.

Indeed, Ford has a strong voice that is never overwhelmed by the orchestra on tunes like the opener “I’m a Stranger Here Myself.” Ford handles the lowdown brass voicings of Kellaway’s arrangement, as well as Odgen Nash’s suggestive lyrics quite well on another standout tune that would be of strong interest to jazz listeners.

Evidently, Kurt Weill is set for another Broadway revival. LoveMusik a musical directed by Harold Prince, dramatizing Weill’s relationship with Lotte Lenya and featuring his songs, is scheduled to debut soon. Those Broadway patrons would certainly also enjoy Ford’s Weill. It is clearly an independently conceived self-contained project, which straddles cabaret and big band vocals in a way that could appeal to a wide theater-going audience. The result is a well-selected set of Weill songs (no “Mack the Knife”—too obvious) that showcases Ford’s voice and gives a deeper appreciation for the breadth of Weill’s compositions for musical theater.